The objective of this work is to analyze the making of the discourse of social participation and of democratic governance in the sphere of public policies aimed at promoting regional development, implemented by the Federal Government of North-East Brazil. We seek, too, to verify in which measure this tool of public intervention has facilitated the creation of the socalled ?green jobs?, that is, those jobs related to sustainable activities ensuring economic efficiency, social justice, and ecological prudence. This study about social participation was made through interviews and surveys in a sample of participants from the ?F?rum de Desenvolvimento Mesorregional", created in the context of the PROMESO in the Chapada do Araripe. In order to attain our second objective, this study used data provided by RAIS-MTE, verifying to which extent the employments created in the mezzo-region Chapada do Araripe,…

Motion analysis, or the analysis of image sequences, is a natural extension of image analysis to time series of images. Many methods for motion analysis have been developed in the context of computer vision, including feature tracking, optical flow, keypoint analysis, image registration, and so on. In this work, we propose a toolbox of motion analysis techniques suitable for biomedical image sequence analysis. We particularly study ciliated cells. These cells are covered with beating cilia. They are present in humans in areas where fluid motion is necessary. In the lungs and the upper respiratory tract, Cilia perform the clearance task, which means cleaning the lungs of dust and other airborne contaminants. Ciliated cells are subject to genetic or acquired diseases that can compromise clearance, and in turn cause problems in their hosts. These diseases can be characterized by studying the motion of cilia under a microscope and at high temporal resolution. We propose a number of novel tools and techniques to perform such analyses automatically and with high precision, both ex-vivo on biopsies, and in-vivo. We also illustrate our techniques in the context of eco-toxicity by analysing the beating pattern of the heart of fish embryo

Within each breath, a large diversity of volatiles molecules of the surrounding reaches our olfactory receptors. Despite the chemical complexity of the natural environment, the organisms succeed to represent their world using single odorants or mixtures. The treatment is then based on two processes: the elemental mode, which allows extracting the odor quality of all or some of the elements, or the configural mode which allows the holistic representation of the mixture. In this doctoral thesis, we evaluated the influence of some physicochemical parameters, the number of odorants included in a mixture and the developmental stage of an organism in the perception of mixtures in the rabbit and the Human. The results confirm that the perception of configurations is shared by the two models even if the modality of their emergence can be distinct, at least in part. Our findings support the idea that in mixture, several elements or association of elements can carry a perceptual weight leading to the elemental, or configural perception, respectively. These weights can be influenced by several mixture physicochemical parameters, especially their complexity, but can also be partially modified by experience and development. Finally, these works brings original results allowing to better understand how an organism, at different period of its individual life, achieves the extraction of…

Since the 1950’s, the creation of Serre-Chevalier has led municipalities to the Guisane valley into a deep socio-economic regeneration. Once safely neglected, many areas have then been massive urbanization. The alluvial fans are privileged to be part of this rivalry space, and therefore the risk area. Relations "torrents-society" are quite conflicting, and the integration of risk in torrential development projects or development is still often perceived as a burden. This work is characterized by a transversal approach and multiscale coupling of field investigations and analysis carried out ex situ. The diagnosis of torrential hazard depends mainly on the concept of "potential" to detach from the "straitjacket" normal zoning history. The study of contemporary morphological adjustments helped to better understand the diversity of local configurations, but also the inexorable rise of vulnerability to the development of Serre-Chevalier. The development perspective of past and current management of risk has put forward some proposals, including from a significant focus on prevention information, education, and especially the issues. Furthermore, a system of information on risk torrential in Serre-Chevalier (SIRTOS) was designed. This would facilitate decision making by its interoperability, its enrichment, its integration into development projects, and thus lead to more sustainable management of the…

► This dissertation comprises three individual chapters. Chapter Two examines how free riding across neighbors influenced the diffusion of color television sets in rural China.…
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▼ This dissertation comprises three individual chapters. Chapter Two examines how free riding across neighbors influenced the diffusion of color television sets in rural China. Chapter Three tests for asymmetric information between a firm’s management and other investors concerning its patent output. Chapter Four discusses how knowledge stocks influence a patenting firm’s later diversification. Chapter Two documents the existence of a type of network effects - free riding across neighbors - in the consumption of color television sets in rural China, which reduces the propensity of non-owners to purchase. I construct a model of the timing of the purchase of a durable good in the presence of free riding, and test its key implications using household survey data in rural China. Chapter Three tests for asymmetric information between a firm’s management and other investors about its patent output by examining insider trading patterns and stock price changes in R&D intensive firms. It demonstrates that management has considerable information about its patent output beyond what is known to investors. It also shows that the predictive power of insider trading patterns on patent output comes from purchases rather than sales. Chapter Four discusses two sequential channels through which knowledge stocks may influence a firm’s later diversification. One is that firms with more knowledge are more likely to enter a new industry. The other is that firms’ businesses have a better chance of surviving, conditional on being formed. By examining U.S. public patenting firms in manufacturing sectors for 1984-1996, I find that knowledge stocks predict the likelihood of new industry entry when controlling for firm size. However, this predictive power is weakened when diversification effects are included. On the other hand, a survival study of newly established segments shows that initial knowledge stocks have significant positive effects on segment survival, whereas diversification effects are insignificant.
Advisors/Committee Members: Peter Thompson, Cem Karayalcin, Prasad Bidarkota, Hassan Zahedi.

► The dissertation studies a model of an economy which produces and exports durable goods. It analyzes the optimal monetary policy for such a country. Generally,…
(more)

▼ The dissertation studies a model of an economy which produces and exports
durable goods. It analyzes the optimal monetary policy for such a country.
Generally, monetary policy has a bigger economic effect on durable goods relative to
non-durable goods because durable goods can be stored and households get utility from
the stock of durable goods. This dissertation shows that, in Nash equilibrium, the central
bank of a durable goods producing country can control changes of the price level with
smaller changes in the monetary policy instrument. In the cooperative equilibrium, the
monetary authority of the country which imports non-durable goods and exports durable
goods should raise the interest rate by more, relative to the Nash case, in response to a
rise in foreign inflation. On the other hand, the monetary authority of the country which
imports durable goods and exports non-durable goods should raise the interest rate by
less than the other country.
Advisors/Committee Members: Jansen, Dennis W. (advisor), Auernheimer, Leonardo (committee member), Bessler, David (committee member), Kim, Hagen (committee member).

15.
Broux, Carole.
Déficiences et inclusion : la question de l'aménagement durable des bâtiments scolaires pour l'accueil de toutes les populations : Disabilities and inclusion : the question of sustainable development of the school buildings for the welcome of all sections of the population.

The accessibility of the educational institutions for people with disabilities is a topical subject, but still little known. The Act of 11 February 2005 laid down an obligation of accessibility of public buildings. Among the concerned premises, school must meet this obligation. In order to give deficient students the same opportunities of vocational integration, this accessibility must be possible throughout the entire school career. To make schools accessible the first step would be to enable people with disabilities to have a place in society, the school being the first place of socialization for a child. It is useful to identify with precision the needs of all the actors involved. What is the number of children with disabilities in school at a European and national level and what are their evolution ? Through a historical, legal, geographical, statistical and demographic approach it appears that the accessibility of educational buildings for disabled students has evolved in France as well as in other European countries. More local research allows to draw conclusions in terms of physical accessibility (paths, comparison between the different types of buildings…) and to examine the issues raised in practical terms. Thus, we will know how to improve the accessibility of the educational institutions for disabled people and allow…

This thesis consisted in highlighting the legal instruments and measures state that Lebanon should adopt to achieve substantial steps on the path of sustainable development. Several-areas of investigation and relevant evidence were selected: privatization, environment, banking sector, tourism, housing, energy and water. My major was to assess the current public polities and to make critical proposals that can contribute to the work of the Lebanese legislators.Various disciplines were considered to bring to our problematic elements of analysis in the field of their respective objects. The environmental law and public policies have been related to the issues of justice, the intervention of civil society associations, the political system and decision making. Lebanon is a multi-faith constitutionalized society; this forced us to study the effects of communalism issues on the questions studied and was an opportunity to call Lebanon to build a secular society based on the principle of secularism.We had to combine the practical and programmatic concerns with a theoretical logic effort. In many places we reported that the goal is not to provide magical solutions,…

Roufagalas, John, 1. (1986). Interrelated demand and supply in the markets for new and used durable goods. (Thesis). University of Florida. Retrieved from http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00037152

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):

Roufagalas, John, 1956-. “Interrelated demand and supply in the markets for new and used durable goods.” 1986. Thesis, University of Florida. Accessed January 21, 2019.
http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00037152.

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

MLA Handbook (7th Edition):

Roufagalas, John, 1956-. “Interrelated demand and supply in the markets for new and used durable goods.” 1986. Web. 21 Jan 2019.

Vancouver:

Roufagalas, John 1. Interrelated demand and supply in the markets for new and used durable goods. [Internet] [Thesis]. University of Florida; 1986. [cited 2019 Jan 21].
Available from: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00037152.

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

Council of Science Editors:

Roufagalas, John 1. Interrelated demand and supply in the markets for new and used durable goods. [Thesis]. University of Florida; 1986. Available from: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00037152

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

University of Florida

24.
Blackburn, John O., 1929-.
A Balance sheet for the nation: a study in concepts.

► This dissertation has two goals. The first goal is to empirically estimate the response the real price of various consumer durable goods to exogenous changes…
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▼ This dissertation has two goals. The first goal is to empirically estimate the response the real price of various consumer durable goods to exogenous changes in the nominal money supply. The second is to analytically solve different dynamic equilibrium models of consumer durable goods for an approximate solution for the equilibrium real price of durables and then to test the predictive power of these models concerning the dynamic response of this equilibrium price to exogenous shocks to the nominal money supply. The first goal is achieved using a VAR approach that takes advantage of a general set of restrictions that is consistent with a wide body of existing literature on VAR identification. The second goal is reached by replacing the equations of the dynamic models with linear approximations. Comparing the estimated price responses obtained from the just identified VARs to the theoretical price response to a money supply shock predicted by these models performs the aforementioned tests. This dissertation finds that both the real price of consumer durables and the real quantity of consumer durables increase in the short run in response to an exogenous shock to the money supply. Also, dynamic equilibrium models of consumer durables do a relatively effective job of matching the predictions obtained from the VAR. These results hold true whether aggregate consumer durable goods are analyzed or new automobiles.
Advisors/Committee Members: William D. Lastrapes.

The strong brand equity has become a very significant factor that influences consumers behaviour of a brand Success in brand management ascends from understanding and…
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▼

The strong brand equity has become a very
significant factor that influences consumers behaviour of a brand
Success in brand management ascends from understanding and managing
brand equity appropriately to produce strong attributes that will
influence consumers behaviour when making their choices This thesis
emphasizes on the investigation of the impact of consumer behaviour
and brand equity dimensions on purchase of durable products based
on customer survey Research objectives of the thesis is to analyse
the consumer buying behaviour on selected durable products
demographic factors influencing purchase decision of consumers with
regard to durable products to analyze the key dimensions of brand
equity in influencing purchase decisions study the relationship
between various dimensions of customer based brand equity and draw
out managerial implications of the findings of the study It focuses
on consumer behavior and brand equity dimensions of customer based
brand equity on consumers behaviour of a brand This is based on the
assumption that all these dimensions of brand equity will influence
on consumers behaviour toward durable products
brand

C, K. (2014). Study on the impact of consumer behaviour and brand
equity on durable products with special reference to Bangalore
district;. (Thesis). Anna University. Retrieved from http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/22925

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):

C, Kandasamy. “Study on the impact of consumer behaviour and brand
equity on durable products with special reference to Bangalore
district;.” 2014. Thesis, Anna University. Accessed January 21, 2019.
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/22925.

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

MLA Handbook (7th Edition):

C, Kandasamy. “Study on the impact of consumer behaviour and brand
equity on durable products with special reference to Bangalore
district;.” 2014. Web. 21 Jan 2019.

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

Council of Science Editors:

C K. Study on the impact of consumer behaviour and brand
equity on durable products with special reference to Bangalore
district;. [Thesis]. Anna University; 2014. Available from: http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/22925

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

► The dissertation studies the relationship among durable goods, price indexes and monetary policy in two sticky-price models with durable goods. One is a one-sector model…
(more)

▼ The dissertation studies the relationship among durable goods, price indexes and
monetary policy in two sticky-price models with durable goods. One is a one-sector
model with only durable goods and the other is a two-sector model with durable and
non-durable goods.
In the models with durable goods, the COLI (Cost of Living Index) and the PPI
(Producer Price Index) identical to the CPI (Consumer Price Index) measured by the
acquisitions approach are distinguished, and the COLI/PPI ratio plays an important rule
in monetary policy transmission. The welfare function based on the household utility can
be represented by a quadratic function of the quasi-differenced durables-stock gaps and
the PPI inflation rates. In the one-sector model, the optimal policy maximizing welfare is
to keep the (acquisition) price and the output gap at a constant rate which does not
depend on the durability of consumption goods. In the two-sector model with sticky
prices, the central bank has only one policy instrument, so it cannot cope with distortions
in both sectors. Simulation results show that the PPI is an adequate price index for
monetary policy and that a policy of targeting core inflation constructed by putting more
weight on prices in the sector producing more durable goods is near optimal.
Advisors/Committee Members: Jansen, Dennis (advisor), Gawande, Kishore S. (committee member), Hernandez-Verme, Paula (committee member), Kim, Hagen (committee member).

► The creation of durable peace following armed conflicts has been widely researched from a variety of perspectives. There is much less research, however, concerning when…
(more)

▼ The creation of durable peace following armed conflicts has been widely researched from a variety of perspectives. There is much less research, however, concerning when and why mediation can produce durable peace because most mediation research focuses on achieving a short-term success as indicated by the creation of a new peace agreement.
This is an exploratory study which examines several factors considered to be important for the creation of durable peace. This study finds that the two most important factors are the power dynamics between the parties and the management of spoilers. Moreover, this study finds that these two factors are interlinked inasmuch that changes to the parties' levels of power can facilitate the emergence of spoilers. These findings are based on the systematic examination of mediation in four cases of armed conflict by utilizing a modified contingency model of mediation which is tested against the mediations conducted in the 1973 Egyptian-Israeli war, the Bosnian war, the third Angolan war, and the first Chechen war.
This study argues that a well-designed agreement can shift the power dynamics between the parties so that their struggle for power will not take violent forms, and it can help prevent the emergence of new spoilers because it does not favor one party more than the other. Well designed agreements can be created even when the balance of power between the parties is unequal, and efforts to further weaken the already weaker party should be avoided because it can contribute to the emergence of spoilers from within the disputing parties.
An original model for durable peace which accounts for these new findings is then developed. This model argues that to create durable peace mediators must produce good agreements that are balanced and channel the struggle for power into nonviolent mechanisms
and processes, and manage the spoilers who threaten the peace.

Hoffman, E. A. (2009). Power Dynamics and Spoiler Management: Mediation and the Creation of Durable Peace in Armed Conflicts. (Thesis). University of Canterbury. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10092/2902

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

Hoffman EA. Power Dynamics and Spoiler Management: Mediation and the Creation of Durable Peace in Armed Conflicts. [Internet] [Thesis]. University of Canterbury; 2009. [cited 2019 Jan 21].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10092/2902.

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

Council of Science Editors:

Hoffman EA. Power Dynamics and Spoiler Management: Mediation and the Creation of Durable Peace in Armed Conflicts. [Thesis]. University of Canterbury; 2009. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10092/2902

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation